An instant classic. Maps are moody, inventive and unforgiving. A must play for any fan of original Quake. While it's surely not for everyone - it's even harsher and crazier than original 4th episode.

Is the release date in the DB wrong? Readme says made during June 2022 - April 2023.

Oops sorry. I keep thinking it's 2022. Fixed now!

Lovely.

Awesome episode with a very creative approach. Some maps have an unpredictable design which adds to the fun. As Alex said, a classic and very recommended

I love episode 4 and I think spirit world is near perfect in recreating that vibe but for the modern times. A lot of creativity here with all of the traps and set piece design as well as the abstract visuals. Must play for any quake fan.

Doesn't start correctly on Linux. I followed the instructions as usual, but I get the error below (I'm using Ironwail). From the console I can see the elderXXX maps but not the start map.

... ... Language initialization Couldn't load 'localization/loc_english.txt' from '/games/quake'

========= Quake Initialized =========

execing quake.rc execing default.cfg execing config.cfg Using renderer/network isolation. couldn't exec autoexec.cfg Spiritworld version 1.1

This error also happened to me. With V 1.1. The older version on slipseer worked.

Excellent episode. Bravo to Zigi & Newhouse!

A complete masterpiece - the amount of thought that went into this design is simply mind-boggling. Bravo!

Nice, but after the "Family Tree" Quakespasm 0.95.1 says "hosterror: szgetspace: overflow without allowoverflowset". And QS 0.94.5 just throws the exception :)

@ru and others

Thank you for letting us know*

In some older engines/ones with no extended limits and ones with no automatic sv_protocol switching seems to give that message. This might not work for every case but please try the following:

Open up console and type there "sv_protocol 666" press enter then type "map elders6" press enter and the map should launch normally now, and episode progression should continue without issues.

Hopefully this will help some of your for now. Until we figure out if possible some better fix solution to automatize it can be done. ^^

It runs in Linux just fine, at least in Ironwail (from latest source). TyrQuake seemed to run it fine too, but it segfaulted on me in elders2 or 3, I don't remember.

I didn't really play it so thoroughly, but that's because I frankly don't like this much.

General vibe can be similar to Elder World, but only in terms of some used assets. Problem on one hand is the gameplay and on the other the rather nonsensical and not very consistent architecture. That there are some almost direct rips of id maps locations doesn't really help it either.

Some monster placements/types are pain and combined with some of those environmental traps/attacks it's sort of antiplayable. Copper as a pain bonus given the mentioned circumstances.

Architecture suffers from the rather common problem of being there as a substitution of the missing player's feeling of being there instead, if you know what I mean. And some of those sheer combinations of stuff like those colorful windows on walls where there is a lava pit undrneath etc., no, sorry.

I understand that today's engines allow for similar things, but that's not what makes it a good game, it's the rest that is not present in this pack.

Just go play the Elder World and notice the flow, the much more simple, but immersion wise functional architecture and great consistency. Why is all that just being ignored today so often?

DOPA eventually made it into a sort of official Quake episode and there is a reason for that. It kept the Quake core and only gave it new clothes. Not Versace perhaps, but they were a perfect fit.

And why on earth is half of the music in vorbis and half in mp3?

It's not easy to express this opinion about it, I understand that the effort that went into this is incredible, but I had to. I have to be honest what I feel.

Quake is very accessible today, just like Doom. But you can't make a tutorial for a sense of place that easily. Games tend to be very compartmentalized too, like the permeating mindset that retro shooters are only good for INTENSE COMBAT. True or not, this way of thinking rewards setpieces over structure.

This episode is a challenge gauntlet, no way around that. Not without its charms though. Some maps are built and detailed in peculiar ways that feel out of fashion, but in a good sense. And sometimes, it's just noise. Similarly, the mechanics aren't afraid of fucking with you, which can be a hit or miss. For me, it's a savescum fest, but I'll probably finish it.

I'm sorry, i didn't like this.

Nevertheless, i give it maximum points. Very skilled mappers, a immense amount of effort, lots of imagination and thinking outside the envelope, oceans of creativity (and a few blatant ID ripoffs!)... This is truly wonderful mapping!

So, what's not to like?

...The whole mood of the map. It's like a prolonged, bad acid trip. This nightmare mood really gnaws at me; i'm not even sure why.

My dislike of these maps is not due to the mapper's skills and effort; this is an amazig job. They just drive me up the wall...

Thanks for a job very well done; thanks for sharing!

Wonderful episode! We've got 10 new levels + new boss (and his level) + new music. The music is very atmospheric... adds to the feel of otherworldly mystery... and the main course is levels, and well.. they are good. Don't know about fourth episode, the new levels give somewhat different vibe. Have you played Thief: The Dark Project and its sequel, Thief II: The Metal Age? If you did, you do remember the levels associated with Pagans... and the Maw of Chaos. Water defying the law of physics, objects that are bigger than they are supposed to be... A lot of nature/tree motifs all around.. and, surprisingly, the mysterious dark city... all is here, reminding you of these classic stealth games... and yet, those surreal settings fit well in the world of Spirits that you explore in this episode. Expect a lot of strangeness and twisted, beautiful, dream-like locations. There are no new enemies (except boss) and weapons, and yet the episode is very hard even on NORMAL. Expect challenge and unpredictability. The new final boss is [[SPOILERS]]...

A damage-sponge variant of Death Knight. It is called GOLD KING. If you played UNFORGIVEN or SOUL OF EVIL and you remember Bane or Dark Lord... you'll know what to expect) Although, if you managed to get to the boss, which require surviving lots of tough combat, he will be almost a no threat))

The main treat of this episode are its creative, surreal maps and challenging combat. Highly reccommend to play!)

Everything seemed square which was a bit weird but it was a fun romp none the less. I felt like I spent a lot of time spamming pills round corners to kill spawns. Also those spawns on roof beams were annoying. Played on nightmare, found about half the secrets each map

I gave this episode 5 stars because in almost every way, it was amazing, epic Quake, and a solid challenge throughout.

I did not care for the section in the one map (?) with the lifts and the shootable buttons to teleport Ranger to another lift, and I wasn't too fond of the plethora of various traps. The only other quibble I have is that I didn't at all like the level of tension I felt almost the entire episode.

As I said though, this was absolutely amazing in many ways. Thank you for sharing this with us. It's a work of art!

Very nice episode! But some issues: near the end too many electric traps and hidden Spawns, so it makes gameplay full of quick-loads. Also I watched walkthrough, and I saw a lot of rocket-jump-only secrets, isn't it? Please, dont make such secrets, because it is unfair to player who tries to be thuth and spend a lot of time of finding hidden ledge or hidden button. I can use rocket jum only when I proof that "true" way is not existing. But "proof of unexistance" is impossible in common case.

Excellent 5/5

On Quakespasm, the save option does nothing. Just me? Thanks

As others have remarked...not as thrilled with this as the general consensus would indicate. I do respect the work that went into it, but there's a line between homage and just straight-up recycling O.G. iD content, and this tips too far onto the wrong side of it.

Also doesn't help that it's too reliant on jamming you into cramped "setpiece" trap encounters, which is a pet peeve of mine as it stands, but it's especially frustrating given how hard the design is aping iD overall, which generally gave you enough room to craft your own approach even when they clearly had a "storyboard" in mind.

Overall, a good effort, but I'd appreciate it a lot more if it either focused on doing its own thing, or took more lessons from the thing it's already half-copying.

I'm in two minds about this.

Some very good maps, especially elder6 (Diyu), which reminded me of this one totally cramped one in ORLs Ter Shibboleth, mostly because of the big clocks.

But I miss a clear line of design in it.

At least in elder7 I wasn't able to proceed and had to use noclip and god mode.

And I couldn't find most of the secrets and none of the secret maps.

Of cause I ain't the measure of playing Quake, as an unexperienced player. But if it's too difficult and I die a million times even when playing skill 0 ....

Anyway, a lot of interesting ideas, a very creative success in creating a highly original
world of horror.

Good soundtracks.

I'll search a playthrough on Youtube and watch it a little bit.

Thanks for this, as always.

At times it feels like playing Doom mods. A gazillion enemies shove up your ar$$. I think the episode started nicely but then it went down hill with increasing monster closets, in your back teleports, hordes of vores, shamblers... again, and again, and again. Just ridiculous.

Don't understand what happened to the gameplay balance, but yeah, surprise, I didn't enjoy the maps especially after the 3rd.

Can't rate high despite the superb level architecture.

Superb! 5/5 Thanks for this.